Unexpected Apology
by harlequindreaming
Summary: What if instead of Harry, it's Hermione who catches Draco crying in the bathroom? OoC HBP. Really random.


_Disclaimer: I do not own__ any of the characters I use. They are all JK Rowling's. (Sadly.) Again, just a short fic I wrote on a whim. If you recognize one of the parts down there, it's because I lifted it directly from the book. I can't find a way to cite it properly without ruining the format (italics, quotation marks) so I'm just stating it here. The part concerned is the dialogue between Draco Malfoy and Moaning Myrtle. Anyway, I hope you guys like it._

**xxxxx**

Hermione quietly pushed open the door to the unused bathroom on the second floor with one hand, wiping at her eyes with the other. She had come here looking for a place to cry alone, away from prying eyes and gossiping whispers. _That bloody git, _she thought, sliding her body through the small gap and softly closing the door behind her. _He had no right to do that, no right at all. _She started to walk inside but stopped, hearing voices. Pressing herself against the damp wall so she was hidden in shadow, she sneaked a glance.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.

"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles. "Don't… tell me what's wrong… I can help you…"

"No one can help me," said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. "I can't do it… I can't… It won't work… and unless I do it soon… he says he'll kill me…"

Hermione realized with shock and a little horror that Draco Malfoy was crying –actually crying. She watched his shoulders shake with sobs as he pressed his hands to his face. She hadn't thought he was capable of such emotion. She tried to leave, telling herself that she was intruding upon something very private, but for some reason could not tear herself away from the image of Malfoy's ruined face.

"It'll be all right," Myrtle whispered, trying to soothe the sobbing boy, who by now was only standing by virtue of his grip on the sink. "It'll be all right… please… tell me what's wrong…"

"It won't be all right," Malfoy sobbed, sinking to his knees, one hand still on the sink. "It won't be… I can't do it… and he'll kill me and my family… he said he would…"

At this Hermione forgot herself and gasped. She clasped her hands to her mouth but it was too late. Malfoy instantly whipped around and saw her. Hermione only had time to register the flash of shock and anger in his eyes before she was pinned to the wall, his wand at her throat.

"Why were you hiding? Were you spying on me, you filthy Mudblood?" Malfoy spat as he pressed the wand into her skin. "Did Dumbledore send you? Were you after information?"

Hermione started hyperventilating. "No-no one sent me. I came here—on my own." She looked him in the eye and was surprised at what she saw. Beneath his bravado she could see he was just scared. She hesitated, then softly asked, "Will –will Voldemort really kill you?"

Draco started back from her and let go of her robes. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open but he seemed unable to make a sound. He took a few steps back and sank down to the floor again, his head falling to his knees. "Kill me… he'll kill me…," he whispered.

Hermione couldn't help herself. Despite the fact that this was one of her worst enemies, that this was the boy who had tormented her endlessly from the day she set foot in Hogwarts, that this was someone Harry and Ron hated to the ends of the earth… something about how vulnerable he was right now made her sorry for him. She leaned down and put her hand on his arm. "Draco… are you all right?"

He gasped and suddenly she was pinned to the wall again, but this time not with his wand pressed to her neck but with his lips pressed to hers. Shocked both by the force of the kiss and the fact that he was kissing her in the first place, she did not offer any resistance. His hands fumbled clumsily at her robe, feeling for the pieces of her under the cloth. When his hand brushed over her breast she caught herself and pushed him away, hugging her robes tighter around her. He looked at her, horrified at what he had done, and stood up, shaking.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Hermione." He made to hold out his hand to her, but instead turned the doorknob and fled.

Hermione lay there on the floor in shock, watching him run away. She stood up and used her wand to clean herself up. It wasn't until she put her hand on the doorknob, which was still warm from his touch, that she realized something.

"Hermione… He called me Hermione."


End file.
